I have been a friend of Kosova for more than ten years. I
first visited Prishtina in December, 1998, just as Milosevic’s oppression was
beginning to collapse under pressure of the KLA insurgency, reinforced by
growing international support.Since
then I have been active, visiting Kosovo more than a dozen times, working with
educational, economic, and political institutions to encourage the development
of an independent Kosova which embraces democracy, a rule of law and provides
prosperity for all of its peoples.

I aggressively and publicly defended the prerogatives of
local institutions against international encroachments when the first cell
phone contract was awarded to Alcatel Telecom, and more recently in connection
with the disgraceful performance of Nikolaus Lambsdorff, who did his best to
wreck privatization.

I organized a symposium in the United
States in conjunction with the University
of Prishtina Law Faculty and
prestigious foreign policy institutions in the United States to develop serious
technical resources to guide negotiations over independence for Kosova.

During and before the war, I wrote editorial material
forthe New York Times, the Washington
Post, and other major newspapers in the United
States and gave television interviews urging vigorous
support by the United States
government for the aspirations of Kosovar Albanians, including the NATO bombing
campaign.

As a supporter of independence for Kosova, I was initially
frustrated by the gap between the willingness of democratically elected Kosovar
leaders to take greater responsibility for building their country, and the
ineffectiveness, status-quoism, and intransigence and indifference of the
international community.

Now, I experience a different kind of frustration, that is
growing into alarm.Now, the international
stars seem to be aligned in favor of independence for Kosova, perhaps phased in
over time, and perhaps subject to some internationally imposed conditions and
the continued presence of international institutions.People can argue over the details of the
conditions, and the continued role of the international community.Indeed there should be more serious argument
over those details.But it is undeniable
that the international climate is ripe for independence.

But now, there is another kind of gap. The internationals
are ready, but the leaders of Kosova are not.The problem is not primarily the existence of sharp debate within Kosova
over the terms that would be acceptable to Kosovars; the problem is that no one
seems to be prepared technically or to have the political courage to engage in
a serious discussion over the details.

Even worse, Kosovo is beginning to lose the public relations
campaign in the international community, overmatched in every down by
spokespersons for Serbia.This morning, the Wall Street Journal carried
an op-ed piece by the Foreign Minister of Serbia.Regularly for the last several weeks, Serbian
spokespersons have visited Washington, New York, Chicago, and
major cities in Western Europe, painting a sympathetic picture of Serbia, and
presenting the Serbian position on the status of Kosovo.

Where are the competing Kosovar expressions?Where are the op-ed pieces written by Kosovar
political leaders?Who has been giving
speeches and academic seminars on behalf of the Kosovar political elite in
foreign capitals or in the United States?

Where are the op-ed pieces and the public statements and
television interviews by Ibrahim Rugova, Bajram Kosumi, Hasim Thaçi, Veton
Surroi, and Albin Kurti?Mr. Surroi has
offered some thoughtful analysis, but his voice is that of an impartial
mediator rather than as an advocate for the future of Kosova.

It is both inevitable and ultimately constructive for
opinion leaders to place rhetorical stakes in the ground for the Kosovar
public.But it is essential that the
same voices speak to the international community in words that the
international community can relate to and sympathize with.

It is true that Kosova has been hampered somewhat by
restrictions on international travel, by UNMIK’s insistence that only it can
express official positions on foreign policy for Kosova, and by the untimely
indictment of one of Kosova’s most effective and charismatic leaders, Ramush
Haridinaj.But none of these obstacles
are insuperable.Those who would aspire
to greater political power in an independent Kosovar must expend some political
capital, and take some risks in getting Kosovo’s message out to the outside
world in a way that gives them an independent Kosova to lead.

I have spent the last 18 months writing a book about the
KLA.The lessons I draw from my analysis
of the KLA experience should be embraced by Kosovar leaders today, many of whom
taught these lessons when they led
the KLA.Changing the status quo
requires courage instead of passivity.Infighting among those with a common interest is the enemy of effective
control of events.Persuading the
international community about the justice of your message is more important
than who wins periodic skirmishes on the ground.Those who would lead must be prepared to
fight.Those who fight effectively with
cell phones, Web pages, and press and media interviews, often fight more
effectively than those who fight with AK-47s.

The international ground is fertile now.Kosovar’s leaders need to be on that ground sowing
the seeds of independence, instead of sitting in their party headquarters and
odas arguing about who will get credit for sowing the seeds.